He must have had an expression she didn’t care for because Cordie lightly tapped his chest. “You’ve known her all her life and you know what she’s gone through. You would never disappoint her, Gregory Avery.”
He grumbled something under his breath, and his sister must have taken that as his acquiescence, because her smile was back in place.
“Anyway, what I have to ask of you is much bigger than Olivia’s ball.”
His curiosity was more than piqued, though his stomach was still a bit anxious. “What do you want to ask of me?”
Cordie bit her lower lip as though she wasn’t quite certain how to ask whatever it was she wanted to say. She furrowed her brow and then said, “I met a girl yesterday and she is in need of help, help I think only you can provide her.”
What the devil was she talking about? Greg frowned at his sister. “A girl?”
Cordie nodded quickly. “Actually, you’ve met her. Well, sort of.”
One of the girls Phoebe had thrust in his direction over the last few weeks? “Who?” he asked suspiciously.
“Lady Arabella Winslett.”
That name meant absolutely nothing to Greg. If she was one of Phoebe’s friends, she wasn’t a memorable one. He shook his head. “I have no idea who that is.”
“I’m certain you know the girl, Gregory.” Cordie shrugged a bit. “Her brother is Lord Gillingham.”
An image of the pretty brunette from the Astwicks’ flashed once again in Greg’s mind as did the memory of her rushing from Hyde Park the day before in a panic. Greg’s stomach twisted even more. He didn’t know what his sister wanted from him, but he was fairly certain he wasn’t going to like it. “Lord Gillingham? As in the wretching-upon-my-boots Lord Gillingham?”
Cordie nodded. “Precisely. Just yesterday you said no matter how ungentlemanly Gillingham was, that he should have his sister’s care in the forefront of his mind. Unfortunately, her brother isn’t able to assist her, and she does need someone looking out for her. Someone other than Lissy. Lissy wanted to engage Haversham’s help, but that would not be a good idea at all.”
His sister was talking complete nonsense. Not one thing that came out of Cordie’s mouth made a bit of sense. Gillingham? Haversham? Lissy? “What are you talking about?”
Cordie blinked her green eyes up at Greg. “She needs a pretend fiancé, Greg.”
His stomach had been correct. He didn’t like what his sister was suggesting at all. “A pretend fiancé?”
Cordie nodded quickly. “Well, more of a temporary one, and not for too long. Just the next fortnight or so, a month at the very longest, I’d imagine.”
Greg’s mind spun in circles. What an utterly ridiculous thing to suggest. “Have you taken leave of your senses?”
The stare she cast upon him said very clearly she had not. “When you think about it, Gregory, it’s perfect. You can aid a girl who is very much in need of help. And if everyone, including Phoebe, believes you to be betrothed, then you won’t have our sister-in-law playing matchmaker for you the rest of the season. See, I have helped you with your Phoebe problem.”
That last bit was something to think about, but Greg shook the thought from his mind. He couldn’t believe he was even entertaining the idea. He narrowed his eyes on his sister. “Why does she need a fiancé?”
“Because if she doesn’t have one by the time her cousin arrives in England, the Duke of Chatham will marry her off to her horrid cousin. And that is a fate Lady Arabella does not want for herself.”
Who Lady Arabella wanted or didn’t want to marry was none of Greg’s concern. It was none of Cordie’s either, for that matter. “Absolutely not.”
“She says he’s cruel, Greg; and the girl does seem frightened of him.”
Again, Lady Arabella’s pretty face flashed in Greg’s mind. Was the girl truly afraid? That suggestion did prick at his heart, which was damnably unfortunate.
“And even if her brother was able to help her,” Cordie continued, “he’d have to be sober long enough to do so. And I don’t believe he’s enjoyed one sober day in his adult life. She needs someone to look out for her. Someone who is able to”
His sister was playing on his guilt.
“You wouldn’t want to see her married to a man she hates, would you? Miserable the rest of her days?”
Like Marina had been? Cordie hadn’t spoken her name aloud, but it swirled in the air above Greg’s head anyway. Damn it all, he hated to be manipulated.
When he said nothing in response, his sister sighed. “I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this, Greg, but…”
“But what?”